Chicken Curry | Chicken Rasa Recipe

Now a days I like to make chicken curry/sabzi which can be eaten with just plain steamed rice so I don’t have to make any other side dish.  This curry fits the bill perfectly, after making few methods am set with this easy chicken curry as I am still learning to cook chicken and hopefully will make fish some day soon.   It goes well with plain rice, jeera rice, peas pulav or roti and taste delicious, without much effort.  Normally I use boneless chicken for any curry and the few pieces that comes with bone (though we buy bonelss!) make Chicken Clear Soup, two-in-one Try this simple chicken curry and I’m sure you will love this too.
Ingredients:
Oil - 3 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Fennel Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Tomato Puree - 2 tbsp
Water - 2-3 Cups
Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp
Crushed Kasoori Methi - 1 tsp
Salt - To taste
Cilantro - 1 tbsp [chopped]
To Grind
Onion - 2 large
Green Chillies - 3
To Marinate
Chicken - 500 gms (used here boneless)
Red Chilli Powder - 2 tsp
Coriander Seeds Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Ginger-Garlic Paste - 2 tbsp



Method:

1. Wash chicken pieces and marinate with the ingredients listed under ‘to marinate’ and keep aside for 2 hours or until we are doing other prep work.  Minimum keep chicken marinated for 15 minutes.
2. Grind the items listed under ‘to grind’ and keep aside.
3. In a wok or pan heat oil add cumin and fennel seeds and let it splutter.  Add grounded onion paste and sauté until raw smell goes off and oil starts to leave start of wok/pan.
4. Add marinated chicken and mix well, cover and cook for 7-10 minutes in slow-medium flame or until chicken gets tender.
5. Add tomato puree and sauté for 2 minutes again.  Add water, mix gently and let it come to boil and then simmer for 5 minutes. 
6. Now add garam masala, kasoori methi and adjust salt if required, simmer for 2-3 minutes or until the consistency you want. 
If serving with rice you can keep gravy so it’s easy to eat, for roti/chapati/naan make it thick gravy or as you like. 


Have a nice day ~~

Beetroot Masala Recipe

Beetroot is one of my favorite vegetable and I must have said this umpteen times by now, you have to see the beets recipe I posted, Beetroot Juice, Beets  Soup, Beets Cutlet, Beetroot Stir Fry, Beetroot Paratha, Beetroot Rice, Beetroot Dal, so now what you think?

Baigan Aur Channa Masala | Eggplant and Chickpeas Curry

This recipe outcome of my mood swings.  I started with making one thing, continue making another and the end product with something else.  I do such things so often now a days that I started to think something is wrong with me, does this happen to you too?    But then I like to try different combination and experiment and so far everything has been successful. Softness of eggplant and crunches of chickpeas is perfectly blended with spices making it a special dish and yet simple to make and it has been one of the regular in my list now.  You don’t have to think too much, just go ahead and try this am sure you will like this too. 

Ingredients
Eggplant/Baigan - 1 Large
Chickpeas - 1/2 Cups
Onion - 1 medium
Tomato - 1 small
Garlic - 1 tsp chopped
Green Chillies - 2
Oil - 1 tbsp
Bay Leaf - 1
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Seeds Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Dry Mango Powder/Amchur - 1/4 tsp
Kasoori Methi(dry fenugreek leaves) - 1 tsp [crushed between palms]
Salt - To taste
Water - 1 cup

Method:
1. Soak chickpeas over night and pressure cook for 2 whistles with enough water (around 2 cups) and little salt. 
2. Chop onion, garlic, green chillies and tomato in chucks.  Cut eggplant in bite size pieces and immerse in water until ready to use.
3. In a pan or wok heat 1 tsp of oil, sauté onion, garlic and green chillies until onion becomes transparent, transfer to mixer jar or blender and allow to cool. Once cool enough to grind, add little water and make a smooth paste.
4. In the same pan add remaining oil, add bay leaf and sauté for 30 seconds.  In medium to slow flame now add prepared paste and fry until paste starts to leave pan edges.  Now add red chilli, coriander seeds and turmeric powders and sauté for 2 more minutes. 
5. Meanwhile we can grind the tomato and keep aside, don’t add any water.
6. Add puree tomato, mix well and cook for a minute. Add brinjal/eggplant pieces and cook for 2 minutes or until brinjal starts to change colour.
7.  Add one cup of water or use the boiled chickpeas water, boiled chickpeas, crushed kasoori methi, salt, amchur and bring it good boil, slow flame and simmer for 5 minutes or until gravy become thick and brinjal cooked well but not mashy. 
Goes well with plain rice, any pulav or roti/paratha.  We had it with Peas Pulav.

Have a nice day ~~

Spring Onion Paratha | Scallion Flatbread

Do you believe challenges makes us more strong, wise? It doesn’t matter what kind of challenges we have to face and how we resolve, it only help us to grow as a person.  Talking about challenges, we do face the same in our kitchen don’t we? Remember my Spring Onion and Peas Soup that I made to finish off the scallion bunches I had along with my few more trials.  In between thanks to the people whom tried that soup and wrote back to saying they loved it (oh ya am showing off). Coming back to my story, just finish that batch and DH got me another 2 bunches of spring onion!!  I did try/experiment new dishes and one of them was these spring onion parathas.  I was just thinking what to do with scallion before they wilt and got the idea of making paratha.

Few of you asked me how to make square paratha, though I have mention before in  my plain paratha post how to do it but here the pictorial description of how to make square paratha for you.   Well I didn’t get the perfect square shape this time thanks to the clicking (that’s our scapegoat for blaming today) but normally I do make decent squares.  There was a time I used to make only triangle parathas cause that’s what my mother use to do I don’t remember I ever saw her making square parathas.  But my MIL likes only square ones and she asks me to make it that way, now I make normally square one’s as I personally find making perfect square is much easy then making a perfect triangle, how complicated a paratha can get!  Anyways the bottom line is I am so glad that I did experiment and made these parata, it turn out to be so soft, delicious with mild flavour of spring onion, if you want strong flavour then you can add little more of chopped spring onion.

Ingredients: [Makes 8-9 Parathas]
Wheat Flour - 2 cups
Spring Onion/Scallion - 1 bunch [ only green part] or 3/4 Cup chopped
Green Chillies - 2
Carom Seeds/Ajwain - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil/Ghee - 1 tbsp + for brushing paratha
Water - To knead

Method:
1.  Wash and finely chop spring onion  and green chillies.
2. In a wide bowl or plate place flour, spring onion, green chillies, carom seeds, salt and 1 tbsp of oil.  Mix everything well and rub between palm to get sand like texture.  Make a well in the center add water in small quantity and make a smooth, pitiable dough, cover with a wet cloth and keep aside for 20 minutes.

2. Divide the dough into equal portion of 8-9 balls.  Take one piece at a time and roll into thin circle like we do for roti.

3.  Apply little oil all over and sprinkle little flour.  Fold top part one third of roti and then bottom part one third, so we made 2 folds here.  Apply little over on the folded part.

4. Now fold right side followed by left side, and here we did another 2 folds.  So in total we folded it 4 times.  After each fold apply oil and sprinkle little flour to take flaky parathas.

5. Dust in flour as required and roll into 8-9 inches of square.  Meanwhile heat  a pan/tawa or griller and place this rolled paratha and cook on medium heat until you see it starts to change colour and little bubbles starts to form, flip it apply oil or ghee all over the paratha.  Now flip again to another side and apply ghee or oil.  Cook until both sides are golden brown, flip in intervals to prevent burning. 


Have with any curry or raita, I made black chickpeas curry. 

Have a nice day ~~

Broccoli & Carrot Poriyal | Thoran | Stir Fry

From last one year plus broccoli has been so regular at home thanks to vegetable shopping at done  mostly in supermarkets! Most of the time I make Broccoli Soup or Stir Fry or some time I venture into another recipes provided I have the mood.  This is a very simple, quick and delicious recipe which can be done in just 10 minutes including chopping if you are using a chopper.  I didn’t add coconut as I was short of it but it tasted delicious, am sure coconut will add wonderful flavour to the dish.   Try this combination to make your broccoli stir fry more interesting. 


Ingredients:
Broccoli - 1 head
Carrot - 2
Green Chillies - 2
Oil - 2 tsp
Asafoetida/Hing - a pinch
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Dry Red Chilli - 1
Curry Leaves - 1 Sprig
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Grated Coconut - 3 tbsp [ I didn’t use]
Salt - to Taste

Method:
1. Wash and finely chop broccoli or you can grate it too, I used my chopper which does  very fine chopping.  Wash, peel and finely chop carrot, green chillies.

2. In a pan or wok heat oil, add asafoetida, cumin and mustard seeds and allow to splutter.  Add curry leaves and dry red chilli and sauté for 30 seconds, add carrot and fry for a minute.

3. Add broccoli and give a good stir let it sauté for a minute too.  Now add turmeric, chilli powder, salt mix well,  cover the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes on medium flame.

5. Add grated coconut (if using) and mix well cook for a minute or until everything is cooked but still crunchy.

It hardly takes 5 minutes to cook as broccoli and carrot are finely chopped.  Goes well with plain rice or with dal/sambar, rasam rice.

I had it with rice and mochakottai kulambu, a yummy meal.

Have a nice day ~~

Matar Pulao | Peas Pilaf

Pulao is one such dish that can make any occasion grand or just keep it simple, perfect for a party, simple get-together, for a lazy weekend lunch or for lunch box and the fact that it's a one pot meal only makes it more appealing, don't you think so?

Matar Pulao or Peas Pulao and Jeera Rice are the rice recipe that I do the most as these are most simple, delicious, fast and goes well with chole, any curry or even a simple raitha, making our life less complicated.   And then like most of the recipes there are plenty of ways of making this peas pulao too, you can add the below spices or skip anything if you don't like.  Some people like to add fried cashews but then I prefer to keep it simple and original.   I normally do it in pressure or rice cooker rather than using cooked rice and frying it afterwards ofcourse it has it's own taste, no denial in that but then for me it's one pot meal. 

Serves - 2

Ingredients:

Basmati/Long Grained Rice - 1 Cup

Matar/Green Peas - 1/2 Cup

Ghee/Oil - 1 tbsp

Shahjeera/Caraway Seeds - 1/2 tsp [or cumin seeds]

Bay Leaf - 1

Cinnamon - 1" pieces

Green Cardamom - 2

Cloves - 2

Star Anise -1

Onion - 1 medium

Water - 2 Cups

Salt - to taste

Cilantro Chopped - 2 tbsp [optional]

Green Grape - 8-10 [optional]

Method:

1. Wash and soak rice for 15-20 minutes.  Meanwhile Shell peas if using fresh or thaw it if using frozen, slice peeled onion and keep aside.

~ If you soak basmati rice for longer time it tends to break.

2. In a pan or wok heat ghee/oil, add bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, star anise and shahjeera saute for 30 seconds.

3. Add sliced onion and saute until transparent, don't let it change colour otherwise pulao colour will change.

4. Add peas and saute for 2 minutes, now add rice mix gently and  saute for a minute.

5. Add salt, water and stir gently.  You can transfer everything to a rice cooker and let it cook like I did.

~ If you going to use pan then let water come to boil, reduced heat, close pan with lid and cook until water absorbed or rice is cooked, stir gently in intervals.

You can also add some green grapes (if too big halve it), but the grapes should not be sour or too sweet.  Long back when I was kid I saw grapes in matar pulao in one birthday party, it was tasty, different and thus stuck in my mind until now and I try to add grape some times.

And this easy pulao goes  to Lubna's Joy from fasting to feasting IV.

Have a nice day ~~

Ridge Gourd Peel Chutney

I am sure most of you know how to prepare ridge gourd or it's peel chutney and I never thought of posting the same.  Recently me and my friend cum neighbour went for vegetable shopping and when I got myself a soft, fresh ridge gourd and asked her if want to buy it too ..she said she doesn't know what to cook with that ...I was like you can do so many things and also make chutney with the peel..she told me she heard about it but doesn't know the recipe and then I thought I should post it for her and other people whom don't know how to make this yummy but simple chutney.  

Ingredients:

Ridge Gourd Peel - 1 cup or of one ridge gourd

Cilantro - 1/2 cup  [you can just few stalks too]

Coconut - 1 tbsp [optional]

Garlic - 1 tbsp [chopped]

Green Chilli - 3 [according to spice level]

Tamarind - a small pebble size

Urad Dal - 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Water

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and let it crack.  Add urad dal, garlic and green chill, once dal becomes golden brown add ridge gourd peel and sauté for 2-3 minutes, off the flame and allow everything to cool.

2. In a mixer or blender add rest of ingredients with the sauté items and grind into smooth paste, add little water if required.

Simple and delicious chutney is ready.  If you wish top up the chutney with mustard seeds tempering.  This chutney stays for 2-3 days if store in air tight container and refrigerate.  But if you add more of coconut then it's better to consume on same day. 

This chutney does well with dosa, bread, roti or rice.  I can eat this with anything :).

And this goes to Ayeesha of Taste of Pearl City Any One Can Cook:Series 19 ...what a coincident ...just y'day I saw the movie Ratatouille again ..

Have a good day ~~

Broccoli Soup

What do you like to have when you are feeling sick..specially with cold, cough and fever, would you like to share?

I'm in this condition now for 3 days and today being alone at home I'm in no mood to cook or do anything.  Then around lunch time I started feeling little hungry, I have to take medicine too so I thought to make broccoli soup ..a plan which I happily kept postponing for almost a week now and also the broccoli was screaming on me to be consumed.  I didn't follow any particular recipe, and just added whatever I feel like it but this is my normal way of making any soup ;).  

Serve - 4 cups appr.

Ingredients:

Broccoli - 1 medium size [mine was around 300gms]

Cabbage - 1/2 Cup chopped [optional]

Ginger-Garlic paste - 1/2 tsp OR Just use 2 garlic pods

Clove - 1

Cardamom - 1

Peppercorns - 5-6 ~ according to taste

Olive Oil - 1 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Fresh Grounded Pepper - to taste

Water/Vegetable stock - 3-4 cups

Method:

1. Wash and chop broccoli stem and remaining into florets.  Chop cabbage.

2. In a pressure cooker heat oil, add clove, cardamom, cabbage and give a good stir.

3. Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for a minute. 

~~ I actually wanted to use fresh ginger since I'm having cold but I didn't had any in hand ..

4. Add broccoli stems pieces, florets and sauté again for a minute.  Add salt, peppercorns and 1 to 1.5 cups of water.  Close the cooker lid and cook for 1 whistle.

 ~ I used  1cup water.  

5. Once the cooker pressure is released & mixture is cooled, blend the cooked broccoli to smooth puree.  

6. Heat a sauce pan or the same cooker; add the puree and 2-3 cups of water

~~ Depending on how you like you soup to be..I added 2 cups of water.

7. Simmer the soup for 4-5 minutes or until a nice boil comes. Adjust salt if required. 

Garnish with spring onion or carrot.  I added finely chopped carrot as it looks good and add good crunchy bites. 

Add freshly grounded pepper to taste and serve with bread stick, garlic bread or simple toast is good enough.  I had mine with toast dunked into soup and it tasted awesome...

Note:

~ You can add onion and potato instead of cabbage.

~ I think adding carrot is good option too.

~ You can cook everything in a pan too but pressure cooker saves time.

Have a good day ~~

Beetroot Rice

I have posted few recipes using Beets so by now you should know my love for beets :).  I wanted to make Beetroot Pulav from Saptha blog for long and was ready to do it during one of those raining weekend we had in SG ...but I realize Saptha had used cooked rice, I didn't had mood and patience's to do all that so I went for my short cut way and just made it like rice with the ingredients in hand.  

So here is simple, quick and easy beets rice ..a one pot meal, those days when you are lazy to cook :).  

~ The pics are not very gud cause we had almost no light thanks to rain.  

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 1/2 cup [ I used basmati]

Beetroot -  1 cup chopped or 1 small size

Onion - 1 [medium]

Green Chili - 2

Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Bisi Bela Bath Masala - 1 tbsp [optional]

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Garlic Pods - 2 large crushed

Curry leaves - few

Oil - 1-2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Water - 2 1/2 cup

Method:

1. Wash, peel and chop the beetroot in small bite size pieces.  (you can grate the beets too)

2. Peel and slice the onion, slit the chiles. Wash and soak the rice for 10-15 minutes.

3. Heat oil in pressure cooker add cumin seeds once it cracks add garlic and saute, add onion, chili and curry leaves saute until onion becomes pink. 

4. Add chopped beets pieces and saute for a minute.  Include all the spice powder and give a stir cook for 1 minute.

5. Add rice and mix everything well.  Now add salt and water, check for spice and salt and adjust if required.

6. Close the cooker lid and pressure cook for 2 whistles.  Serve with any raitha of your choice.

This little bird waiting to taste the rice ;)

Have good weekend  ~~

Bisi Bela Bath ~ BBB

I love one pot meal, am sure most of you feel the same way and Bisi Bela Bath is one such wonder.  But the traditional way of making BBB is not really one pot meal wonder as it involves as of work ..or at least that's what I feel but then short cuts doesn't really match up to traditional taste. 

We have see many ways of making Bisi Bela Bath but for me I always hooked to Lakshmi'sBBB recipe.  Every time I try her recipe it comes out so well delicious.  Thanks LG for the wonderful recipe.  But I do make few changes to her recipe and here is my version.
 

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 cup
Pigeon Peas/ Toor Daal - 1 cup
Vegetables - 1 cup ( I used 2 cups of chopped carrot, beans, eggplant,  cauliflower, ivy gourd, peas)
Onion - 1 large
Green Chili - 3
Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup
Thick Tamarind Paste - 2 tbsp
Sambar Powder - 1 tsp [optional]
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Water
Cilantro - 2 tbsp chopped for garnish


For Tempering ~ 
Clarified Butter/Ghee - 2 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - few
Asafoetida - a pinch

For Bisi Bela Bath Masala ~ 
Channa Daal - 1 tbsp
Urad Daal - 1 tbsp
Coriander Seeds -  1tbsp
Poppy Seeds - 1 tbsp
Fenugreek/Methi Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Nutmeg Powder - 1/4 tsp
Red Chillies - 12-15 [ to taste]
Cloves - 4
Cinnamon - 1" piece
Cardamon - 1 [optional]

Method: 

For Masala ~

Roast all the daals until golden brown and all the other ingredients, once cooled grind into fine powder.  
~ You can add water too, but I don't so I store the powder and use later.

1.  Wash and soak dal and rice separately for 1 hour or more and pressure cook for 3 to 4 whistles separately too. 
~ You can also pressure cook the vegetables separately. 

2.  Chop onion and all the other veggies. Slit green chili.

3.  Heat oil in a pan add onion and chili, add few curry leaves too and saute until onion becomes golden brown.

4.  Add cauliflower, carrot and beans and saute for 2 -3 minutes followed by all other veggies and saute for 5 minutes in medium heat. 
~ If you boil or pressure cook the veggie then avoid this step.

 

5. Add prepared bisi bela bath masala and sambar powder (if using) stir well and cook for a minute.
~ I don't add all the BBB masala but just use 2 tbsp of it. 

6.  Add tamarind paste and bring to a boil, when masala gets cooked add salt and coconut.  Add water if required.

7.  Add dal and rice and mix well.  [if required move everything to large pot].

 8. Prepare tempering using the ingredients listed and add the tempering to rice mixture.  

 9. Check for salt, cover the pot/vessel and let it stand for 10 minutes. 

Serve with Raita & chips, pappad. 



I made onion and cucumber raita.  

Chop 1 onion, 1/2 cucumber, 1 green chili, Cilantro.

Beat 1 cup curd, add chopped onion, cucumber, chili, salt and mix everything.   Garnish with little red chili, cumin powder and cilantro .  

Enjoy hot steaming bisi bela bath :)

Have good day ~~